Ok first time AG brewer….. ok second time with efficiency questions

So after a little over a year of brewing with LME I decided to switch/expand over to all grain. I’ve already done one batch a couple weeks ago but not wanting to wait over a month to sample the product I decided to brew a second batch.

Both times everything went smoothly and no issues to really speak of. In fact I had a buddy over and I think he now will be converting from the LME method to all grain.

I’m looking for a little confirmation that my Efficiency calculation is correct, in my rush the first batch I did not record my readings.


Heres what I used/recorded
10lbs 2-Row
1.5lbs crystal 75
Mashed with 3.83 gallons at 152F for 60 minutes, collected about 1.8 gallons and sparged with 5.5 gallons to get a total of 7.3 gallons pre-boil.

7.3 gallons at 140F, took an hydrometer reading of 1.029 converted to account for the higher timp to get a true reading of 1.044.

So using an online calculator I’de input
Pre-boil Gravity 1.044
2-row, 10lbs fermentable 1
Crystal 75, 1.5lbs fermentable 2
Pre-boil wort amt 7.3gal

To get an efficiency of 74.52%, and 27.93 points/pound

???????? ok I think I did it all correctly, now the only question is 74.52% a good number or bad? In school 70% usually got me a talking from the parrents about not living up to my potential are C's in beer brewing bad??

75 is quite common congrats

When you take the hydro sample next time, its best to get it below 100* before you test it. I have some people on here say that over 100* its not reliable even with the conversion table. Just a thought. Congrats btw...

tally350z said:

When you take the hydro sample next time, its best to get it below 100* before you test it. I have some people on here say that over 100* its not reliable even with the conversion table. Just a thought. Congrats btw...

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Good to know, whats the thought on how far off the reading will be? are we talking a solid 1% off for every 5-10F over 100 or is like .005%? While I feel its important to get everything right spending an additional 30 minutes or more to drop my wort tmep to 100F I might just skip for now.


Thanks for the info and help, if I did want to cool my pre-boil to 100F whats the best way...... use my wort chiller?

gtnutz said:

While I feel its important to get everything right spending an additional 30 minutes or more to drop my wort tmep to 100F I might just skip for now.

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Get a big cup or something that your tube can fit in and fill it with ice and water. Put the hot wort into your tube and dunk the tube in the ice water. Swirl it around in there and flip the tube over with your hand on top to mix it evenly. It takes about 3 minutes to chill it down to 68 for an accurate reading.

I just took a sample and put it in a cup. Then I put it in the freezer for a few minutes. You don't nee much to take a hydro sample.

tally350z said:

I just took a sample and put it in a cup. Then I put it in the freezer for a few minutes. You don't nee much to take a hydro sample.

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That’s what I was thinking, just suck out a sample with the wine thief and let it cool. This seems like a lot better option then cooling the whole 7+ gallons to get a reading to only bring it all back up to a boil.

For some reason I was thinking the total volume would affect the reading but after going back and re-educating myself about the hydrometer I found that I was wrong.